


Liability

by conspiretoignite



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Adoption, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established Relationship, M/M, Smut, Supreme Family, Top Tony Stark, bottom Stephen Strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-28
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-07-03 20:40:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15826536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/conspiretoignite/pseuds/conspiretoignite
Summary: Tony Stark was used to getting calls from the Metro-General Hospital saying a surgery was taking longer than expected and that Stephen would be late for dinner, but he didn't expect one concerning Stephen's health.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title from “Liability” by Lorde. It was betaed by the lovely chasingastarlight (and English is not our first language). I'll add more tags and some warnings at the beginning as I upload the other chapters.
> 
> TW for this chapter: anxiety, anxiety attack.

The white noise coming from the television wasn’t annoying for once. Surprisingly, it was welcomed to keep him grounded and not to overthink this early. Although it was a documentary about quantum physics that Bruce recommended him, he couldn’t focus on it. He wanted to, but he couldn’t. Not when your husband is away at some fancy gala and is not answering your calls when he should have got back home 2 hours ago. “I knew I should have gone”, he thought when he dialled the number for the 7th time in the past hour. Nothing. At the other end there was only the voicemail greeting. Again, he had wanted to go, but he couldn’t because the meeting took longer than expected. Besides, it surely was another boring party with a lot of elders looking for something to spend money on. “Come on, Tony. You trust him” he said to himself, but his mind made him think otherwise. His husband didn’t enjoy them that much either after all those years, but he needed the money for a new research, and he couldn’t miss the chance.

It was odd they didn’t meet in one of them, even though years later they found that they had happened to be invited to the same galas and weren’t aware of each other’s presence. Maybe it wasn’t mean to be. They had met 8 years ago through a mutual friend: Bruce. He was always bragging about this great doctor he had met at some seminars and Tony wasn’t sure what his intentions were, but he listened to him anyway. Until one day, when he simply added “he seems like a nice guy, ask him out”, and the scientist confessed, “that’s funny because I was trying to get you together actually”. After several years of enjoying his bachelorhood, the engineer wasn’t sure about it but accepted to get over it as soon as possible. Their first date wasn’t a success; if you could consider a “date” the hour they spent at a coffee shop before Stephen had to rush to the hospital due to an emergency. When they went their own way, they thought maybe a friendship would come out of that encounter, but nothing else. Yet, they agreed to meet some time later to finish their conversation about the future of prosthesis. At the beginning, Stephen often had to decline Tony’s invitations to his lab but, as time passed by, he began to clear his schedule to work on their projects together. That was his poor excuse, but Tony knew better and noticed that it wasn’t only for work. By chance, the genius insisted on ordering takeaway because “it was getting late”. Then, the containers of Chinese food turned into non-work-related meetings and Tony cooking for him. And suddenly their lips met after a couple of glasses of wine. And then… well, the rest is history.

A lighting that hit nearby brought him back to reality, and he looked at the phone in front of him. No answer. This wasn’t the first time since his partner sometimes came home almost as the sun was rising after a long shift, but a hunch kept telling him something was wrong. “Try to relax, maybe he met someone when he was about to take his car. You know how these things go”, his mind tried to remind him. But he couldn’t relax, he had to do something in the meantime or his anxiety would get worse. Even if he knew it wouldn’t be healthy, he stood up and reached for the coffee machine to pour himself a cup of his favourite drink. “How many have you had today, Tones?”, he smirked as if he could almost hear him. The drink didn’t last long as he gulped it down his throat despite how hot it was but as soon as he finished it, the phone started to ring. He almost fell when he went around the corner of the coffee table when he tried to get hold of the device.

“Stephen?” Tony answered the call after he tumbled on the sofa.

“Is this Anthony Stark?” a young lady’s voice asked him.

“Yes. Who am I speaking to?”

“I’m calling from Metro-General Hospital. It’s about your husband, Dr. Stephen Strange.”

* * *

The rain stopped the next day. He was in the hospital room looking at his husband laying on the bed peacefully, as though he wasn’t aware of what had happened. Anaesthesia was going to be out of his system sooner or later and, although he wanted to see those blue eyes with golden and green spots he fell in love with during that handshake the first time they met, the consequences were going to be terrible. Being a bearer of bad news wasn’t his strong suit and even less after so many years of disappointing him. “ _I know honey, but I must finish this report”_ , on their first anniversary; “ _I can’t make it to the gala where they’re giving you an award for your career”_ , after he forgot he had a business trip to Singapore; “ _uh I don’t know how to tell you this, but I’ll be a bit late for our wedding”_ , when he lost their wedding rings for 20 minutes. The neurosurgeon would low his eyes and give him a sad smile and say “it’s okay, Tony” after a long, exasperated sigh. Even if he wasn’t the person to blame for this time, what he had to tell him would be the most harrowing news, which would turn their lives upside down.

He looked out of the window: the city beneath them continued with its usual buzz and stress. Despite living in Manhattan for so many years, he felt like a foreigner in the room on the 14th floor, so he looked for the only place that would give him some reassurance. The Stark Tower was not very far away from there, and he could see people were still working as the light coming from the offices indicated. The board meeting where he was supposed to be at that moment to present his new design should have started an hour ago, but as soon as Pepper answered his distressed call at 2 am his schedule for the rest of the week was clear.

_“Tony, what do you want now? Don’t tell me you’re still working on the new solar panels, they’re already more than perfect.” the woman said on the other side of the phone. They had lost count of how many times this has happened in 15 years of friendship._

_“Pepper. It’s Stephen. He wa- he was in a…” her associated partner’s trembling voice started._

_“Tony, breathe. What happened? Is he okay?” she inquired as she left the bed to get a dressing gown._

_“I don’t know, they didn’t tell me over the phone. But I guess he isn’t because he was in a car accident.” his breathing become more laboured. He was reaching the peak of an anxiety attack._

_“Tony, please, breathe with me. Focus on my breathing, okay? We’ll call Happy, and he’ll drive you there, alright? Don’t move until I get there.” were her last words until she rang the doorbell of his penthouse._

_Yet, he didn’t recall the ride to the hospital. There was an empty slot in his memory until the doors of the ER area opened, and he rushed to the desk. Stephen was in surgery and wasn’t expected to be out anytime soon. “Was it that bad?” he thought. The chauffeur waited next to him the first 3 hours before Tony told him to go back home. As if they agreed on doing turns, Rhodey showed with donuts and coffee cups in the early morning and was with him until midday. The rest of the time he was entertained with calls from his friends asking for Stephen, but they knew as much as him since the doctors hadn’t given him any update. His hopes were on Christine Palmer, but she was assisting in the surgery._

“Tony?” a whisper came from behind him.

The engineer turned around and let out a sigh of relief. Those eyes with its characteristic spark were now looking at him disconcerted, but they didn’t hold his gaze for long as he shut them when he felt the pain taking over his body. He wanted to smirk, as he usually did every time before replying “yes, darling?”, but a knot on his throat didn’t allow his answer to come out of his mouth.

“Why are we here?” Stephen questioned since his partner didn’t.

“What do you remember?” Tony sat down on the bed.

“I was at the gala and decided to go back home early, as I told you in my text message. Maybe it was half past midnight. I didn’t drink and short after Billy called me because he had a problem with a case, he sent me the file and then,” his mouth was still open and yet any sound came out.

Tony took a deep breath before saying what it has been the most painful statement he recalls.

“You were in a car accident, Stephen. They found you under the bridge. And,” he started before directing his gaze at what he intended not to look at.

“How bad is it?”

“I don’t have all the medical details, but they did as best as they could.” Tony sighed before carefully placing a reassuring hand on his thigh.

Stephen’s eyes slowly faced what was in front of him. The disconcerted look from before turned into a sad one, but anger quickly took over his eyes. He gritted his teeth and the tears came shortly after. Knowing him like Tony did, it wasn’t for the pain; he was surely blaming himself for being stupid, reckless and not waiting until he got home to look at those files. He wanted to say something, to comfort him, but he started sobbing as he saw the man he loved the most crying while looking at his tools, the hands that brought him so far in his career and gave him his respectable reputation.

“No, this is not the best they could do, Tony. That’s not possible.” Stephen almost shouted.

“Your hands were crushed in the accident and you were in the operating theatre for almost half a day. Christine was there,” he started to explain, “she certainly made sure they were doing their best. They couldn’t lose the hands of the best neurosurgeon of this hospital.”

“Was.” the doctor corrected him and got a confused look as an answer. “I was the best neurosurgeon of this hospital.”

“You don’t know that yet.” he warned. “You can talk with them about the next step.”

“Anthony, I’m not a fool. Look at all these stainless steel pins. It’s over. My career is over, everything is over.” he grimaced when he tried to move.

Tony tried to stay calm: he knew how important his career was for him, and he just lost the most essential part. But how could he say that “everything” was lost when they have built a life together? He could stand he missed some dinner dates because of his work but not everything was lost. He still had them.

“You were under water for 30 minutes, someone luckily passed by the bridge and saw the rails. It’s almost a miracle that you’re still here.”

“Maybe they shouldn’t have found me.”

“Don’t you dare say that. There are more possibilities.”

Stephen’s stern look made the mechanic wonder if the man in front of him really was his husband. The one who brought him breakfast to bed after a long night at the workshop, the one who always kindly accepted his invitations to dance in the middle of the dinning room just because, the one who would tell him stories in the middle of the night so he could go to sleep when insomnia hit.

“And what am I going to do? Be at home all day, waiting for you to come back after another day in one of the most successful companies in the world so you can pity me a bit more until you get tired and leave me?”

“It’s not all about you, Stephen!” he snapped. “Do you know what was the first thing that came to my mind when I got the call? That you died, just like my mom did in a car accident years ago.” Tony added harshly.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags on the story as a new character appears. TW for this chapter: mention of drugs (but it's not relevant to the plot).

They didn’t know each other at that time. Tony was too young, he was only a teenager when he lost everything he had on a cold December night. He was celebrating the end of the term and his parents were out of town because they were attending a Christmas party. The successor of Stark Industries didn’t like to recall that moment of his past, but he had to when his boyfriend found him one night on the sofa, alone with a glass of whiskey and looking at the city a few hours before the sun rose. Despite all the tears that were shared before they had breakfast, it was one of their fondest memories because it was a turning point in their relationship: they started to trust each other more and to leave behind the walls they built around themselves due to the tragedies of their lives. After so many years of dealing with the occasional nightmares Tony had, that detail didn’t come to his mind and he felt worse. The night before must have been a living hell for him: Tony must have felt as alone as he felt before Stephen came into his life, he must have been in the waiting room for hours not knowing if he would come out alive, he must have blamed himself for not going with him to the stupid gala, for not being on the passenger seat and for not being able to, maybe, prevent the accident.

“If it is not for me, Stephen, at least think about our son. What would he have done when he had noticed that his daddy wasn’t coming home anymore?” he continued.

Stephen closed his eyes. He knew they both felt bad for what they have said, but they were proud to say sorry right after. Tony was harsh, but he wouldn’t have brought up those things unless he felt as if he was on the verge of a cliff and didn’t have any other option. If he could, Stephen would have stormed out of the room to get fresh air before the argument got any worse–if that was possible. He took a deep breath and tried to cool down. Since Peter came into their house one year ago, right after they had everything in order with foster care, their priorities changed, and he became the one on top of the list.

_The little kid giggled when he saw the balloons and the big sign that said “Welcome home” when the two adults opened the door of the penthouse. The couple took care of turning what had been their house for 4 years into a child-friendly apartment: that meant no more alcohol in the living room, buying protectors for table edges, no plugs left out of sight and trying to improve their sleeping schedule. Were they ready? Maybe. Maybe not, but they talked about adopting kids since when they were planning their wedding, and they started the process after enjoying their married life for 2 years. They almost adopted another kid, a girl whose parents didn’t take care of due to drug addiction, but her aunt appeared before they started with the papers. Not long after that, the carer who was helping them called when they were having dinner. Stephen rolled his eyes as he took a sip of that delicious Italian wine they always had with pasta because that would be the fifth time in the past month a call from Stark Industries interrupted them. Yet he saw a big smile on his husband’s face, which gave away the person on the other end wasn’t one of his co-workers. Then Tony ended the call after saying “thank you” a thousand times and immediately returned to the table and took his hands. “Guess what”, he said before revealing one of the best news he ever got: there was a toddler, who had lost his parents after an accident, waiting for them._

_Tony put Peter down so he could run to the stuffed animals and toys placed on the sofa that he had been staring since they stepped through the door. After they set the adoption papers down, Stephen knelt next to his son and asked:_

_“Do you want to see your room?”_

_“Yes!” the kid affirmed enthusiastically and followed him to one of the first rooms of the hall._

_The excited squeal when he saw the decoration of his bedroom gave the couple the sensation that the future before them would be good._

It didn’t matter how things turned out, they would always take a step back and do what it was best for their 3-year-old kid. He was about to apologize and mutter “I didn’t realize”, but his partner interrupted him:

“Maybe you should get some rest, I’ll be here if you need anything.” Tony added after a few minutes, seeing that he wasn’t getting an answer. Stephen noticed how his partner’s breath was getting heavier; he needed some space.

“Yeah, maybe it helps.” he understood. “I’ll be fine, you can go and grab some food if you want.”

Tony nodded. Although he wanted to stay just in case the doctors came to talk about the surgery and what was next for Stephen, he needed to get out of the room before he said more things he surely would regret. The cafeteria wasn’t busy as it was visiting hours for the ICU and ordered a black coffee. It might not be as good as the one they had at home, but it helped him to think: would the doctors schedule another surgery? Would it be for the best? How long would the recovery take? And how would they manage all this with a toddler at home?

He placed his hands to cover his face and took a deep breath because the answer was clear: he was going to ask for leave of absence to be by his side, it didn’t matter how long it took. Before he headed back to the penultimate floor of the hospital, Tony called Pepper to check on Peter:

“Dad!” his son said excitedly when Pepper handed over the phone. “Aunt Pepper and I are watching Paw Patrol, and she made French toasts!”

“That sounds really good, buddy. I’m sure you’re having a lot of fun.” the mechanic tried to sound cheerful.

“Where are you? It’s Saturday, and we didn’t have breakfast together.” Peter asked worriedly.

Although it felt like hours, Pepper arrived at the penthouse pretty quickly after they finished the call. She found the man fixing a toaster because that was what he did when he was under stress and anxiety was taking over him. Luckily, Peter was still asleep when they were talking about how to handle the situation: they concurred that it was better if Pepper stayed that night and took care of the kid; they would figure something when they knew the extent of the accident and the injuries.

He hesitated, “Daddy and I had to take care of something very early in the morning, and we didn’t want to wake you up. I assure you it’s very boring, you wouldn’t have liked it.”

“But I want to be with you!” the child demanded. “I want to play with you and daddy.”

“We would also rather be at home, Pete, believe me, but that will have to wait for a little while. You have to be good for aunt Pepper, alright?”

“Okay.” the child wasn’t very sure. “Will you be back soon?”

He hated to lie to his son, but he couldn’t explain that his daddy was at the hospital, not for the moment as Stephen hadn’t recovered fully from the anaesthesia yet. He knew Peter would find out sooner or later, but he preferred that they both explained the situation to him since Stephen was the one who worked better under pressure.

“We’ll see you soon, Pete. Oh, and you have to tell me what happens next with Chase, uh?” he asked for before saying goodbye.

* * *

“I thought of you two after the crash, when I was in the ambulance on my way here,” Stephen started when his husband entered the room. “During the gala, I was regretting you couldn’t come because I, as usual, was bored and could only think of the dinner we could have had at home instead. But when I hit the other car, I was glad your meeting took longer than expected because, otherwise, you would have got hurt… or worse.”

“Hey,” the inventor moved closer to him. “Don’t think about that. We’re safe and we’re going to take care of you, alright?” he paused for a moment. “Also, I’m sorry for telling you off earlier. It has been a long night and a long day and I took it out on you. You must have had a lot of things in your head and I didn’t have to add my shit to it.”

“I understand. You must have also been through a lot of stress waiting on those uncomfortable seats in the waiting room, not knowing if they would give you good news or bad news. But I can’t give up my entire career that easily, not when I have come this far. I want to, at least, try.”

“I understand,” Tony repeated. “We will figure something out.”

The doctor nodded and sighed as he realized how long it’d take to go back home. He knew this wasn’t the worst place to be for a few weeks, but he was already frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t work on his own case. While Tony was gone, he carefully looked at his hands and thought of different ways to approach the next surgery. Despite not knowing how bad the damage was, he had to try and he didn’t care how far he had to go. He had to get his hands back: the progress he had made in the past years couldn’t go to waste.

Close after Tony, Christine came to visit him. She looked exhausted since she helped in his surgery, which had finished not long after noon, and she had another shift that afternoon. She tried to smile but the surgeon couldn’t when she saw how her colleague looked like with a swollen eye and brushes all over his cheeks and forehead.

“How are you feeling?” she asked as she typed something on the iPad. It was probably his file so she could update it.

The engineer gave him a look to stop the sarcastic answer that was ready on the tip of his tongue. “My hands are still numb, but the rest of the pain is bearable due to the painkillers.”

“Do you want me to explain how the surgery went?” the uncertainty in her voice was striking.

“Yes please, so he can stop performing entire surgeries in his head as he looks at his hands.” Tony replied as he looked at Stephen.

Christine took a deep breath and said, “I know it’s not what you want to hear but don’t take it out on me, Strange. Dr. West performed the surgery and I oversaw it,” Stephen sighed exasperated, but she continued, “when your car crashed, your hands hit the car panel, leaving your fingers covered with glass fragments and it also caused some broken ribs due to the impact. The surgery took eleven hours as we tried to save most of the nerves but,” she paused, “but there wasn’t much we could do. Your hands suffered severe nerve damage.”

Stephen listened to her patiently and yet his answer was as if he hadn’t paid attention. “I could have done better. Give me the iPad.”

“Despite your stupid rivalry, Nick is still one of the best surgeons. He, _we_ , did what we had to do, what was best for you.”

“Should I remind you that he almost sent a man to the morgue when he didn’t notice a bullet inside his brain just a week ago? There has to be another way.”

“Stephen, it’s inoperable.” The surgeon let out.

The room fell silent. Tony couldn’t take his eyes off Christine as he tried to process the information. His worst fear became true: he couldn’t get his hands back and wouldn’t be able to operate on anybody else. Ever. The inventor had hope that morning, he believed that Stephen and his team would talk about the next surgery, that those scarred hands would recover and that Stephen would save more lives. Even if it took one, three or five years. He tried to hold back the tears and turned to face his partner, who was also trying not to let the tears to roll down his cheeks but he was mostly angry.

He sniffed, “That’s not going to stop me and you know that, Christine. I wouldn’t be where I am if I gave up when the first obstacle showed up. I’m one of the best surgeons in this country because I thought of other ways, other techniques that could save many lives; you’re welcome for that. If all the doctors were like the ones my sister had, we’d be doomed.”

Tony didn’t want to give him hope because the solution might be worse than the problem. Yet he understood his point of view. His company wouldn’t have been successful if his dad complied with the technology of the 40s and it wouldn’t still be one of the most coveted companies if he didn’t reinvent it when he became the CEO. They had the resources and some experts from the medical department could help.

“Could you send me the file, Christine?” Stephen turned around surprised at Tony’s question. “He has a point and Stephen has already worked with my medical department. Maybe they find a solution.”

Christine hesitated before she gave an answer, “It’s confidential information. You’ll only get access to it if you meet with our team here, at the hospital.”

“We accept the conditions.” Stephen confirmed after he gave a quick glance at Tony, which was enough to know that he was on board.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't help but include Peter in the story. Hope you guys enjoyed it and thanks for the kudos and the comments on the first chapter!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, but life is getting busier. TW for this chapter: alcoholism, rehab and a mention of depression.

It took longer than they first expected. The meeting was promising, both teams came with ideas and Stark Industries was willing to provide a better equipment in which they had been working on for some time. A month after the first surgery, they opened Stephen’s hands again and worked on the nerves they expected to save. However, it wasn’t enough: during the therapy exercises, they realized he couldn’t stretch his fingers more than a few centimetres if he was lucky, and the tremble didn’t cease despite how many days had passed by. It was frustrating.

But Stephen didn’t only suffer due to physical pain. When Tony came after taking Peter to the day-care centre in the morning, he was often told that Stephen had woken up several times throughout the night and the reason was mostly nightmares. He wished he could stay by his side, but he felt bad about asking Pepper and Christine to take care of his son as they had already done many nights during the first weeks. On top of that, Peter couldn’t fully understand the situation, and he often asked why his daddy couldn’t go back home with them when they had just spent the afternoon with him. Tony couldn’t blame him, he also needed Stephen back at their house, and he could only reassure him that everything would be how it used to be shortly.

The depression that was taking on Stephen became more apparent as he wasn’t making any progress and as the days felt longer since the routine didn’t vary much: Tony was already there before he woke up to help him have breakfast and then take a shower. Afterwards, if he was in a good mood, they’d talk about new ways the next surgery could go. Other days, if Stephen decided to take a nap, Tony would work on projects he had started before the accident. Though, no matter what plan they had for that day, the inventor always went to physical therapy with Stephen; not only to give him support but to learn the exercises, so they could continue once they sent him home. By 3 pm Tony had to rush to pick up Peter and spend some time at the playground nearby with some of his friends before going back to the 14th floor of the Metro-General Hospital. When the buildings lighted up Manhattan, they–mostly Peter–would help him with dinner and tell him what he has done that day at the nursery. You could tell by Stephen’s eyes that he really cherished those moments and that it was his favourite part of the day. He didn’t want the never-ending ramblings about what game Ned and he invented to end because that meant they had to go back to the penthouse and it was a bittersweet moment: he wanted them to rest in the comfort of their house but that also meant he’d be left alone in that spacious room. Before they headed out, Stephen couldn’t say ‘no’ to a hug from their child even though he loathed not being able to put his arms around his tiny body and squeeze him, just like he did every morning before he left for work. The accident had clear consequences for his career but it also made him think of how it would affect other actions he had taken for granted.

“What if I can’t hold him anymore, Tones?” the doctor inquired out of a sudden on a Saturday afternoon when they were alone. Pepper and Christine had planned a trip for Peter, and they decided to watch a movie together in bed.

“What do you mean, dear?” the mechanic looked away from the television of the hospital room.

“If my trembling doesn’t get any better, I wouldn’t be able to lift or hold Peter anymore because he might fall.” he shuddered.

“The goal of the next surgery is to have control over the trembling so you can do basic tasks. Don’t torment yourself with that.” he rested his chin on his partner’s head and started caressing his arms.

“But what if it doesn’t work out? That also means I wouldn’t be able to make him dinner, to cut the meat for him, to lace his shoes, I wouldn’t… I wouldn’t be able to take care of him, Tony. You’d have to look after him all alone and, then, after me. You’ll get tired of all this and-”

He interrupted him when he noticed his breathing was becoming more laboured. “Why do you keep thinking I’ll abandon you?”

“Because it’s too much for a single person and your job already takes away a lot of your time. You don’t need more stress.”

Tony sighed, “First of all, you’ll be able to do all that with Peter. I’m sure you’ll be the one to teach him how to tie a tie because yours always look better. And secondly, you’re not a burden. I won’t lie and say being here, at the hospital, day in and day out is the best experience of my life but you’re one of my top priorities alongside Peter and you know that. I’d do anything for you both, or have you already forgotten my wedding vows?”

Stephen smiled as he remembered the vows they exchanged what it felt like decades ago, “‘I’ll protect you, and most importantly, that ass from anything’. How could I forget that?”

“Exactly, I still stand by that and I’ll reiterate it when we do our vows renewal.” he said and gave him a gentle kiss.

“I don’t know how you haven’t got overwhelmed yet.”

“It’s difficult, of course, but I could say the same of you when you had to deal with my alcoholism and sobriety process. You didn’t give up on me and wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, Steph.”

Stephen breathed out as he remembered those long 6 months that were now forgotten. The circumstances were troublesome, he had to admit: Obadiah Stane, the co-owner of Stark Industries along with Howard Stark, evaded taxes from the company and left to God knows where after he completely ruined the firm. Tony suddenly found himself in a situation he didn’t know how to deal with: the press was always at the door of the Tower, he had meetings with the lawyers every day and, at the back of his mind, there was a reminder that he was disappointing his father one more time. Stephen noticed that those whiskeys his fiancé had quickly gone from two or three per week to a couple of them every night. He knew it would be worse the more he waited but it was difficult to fight against denial. For two months, the neurosurgeon spent most of his nights having arguments with an angry drunk Tony, who didn’t want to leave the sofa and, therefore, stop drinking. Yet, one morning, when Stephen came back to their shared apartment for some clothes, he saw the engineer with puffy bags under his brown eyes. It seemed that he hadn’t slept for the week Stephen had stayed at Christine’s house, where he went right after a big fight that ended up with him leaving the engagement ring behind. But, after all, it wasn’t unlikely: when they met he only slept for 3 hours if he was lucky and yet that time the situation looked far worse. Stephen imagined that he was hungover, and he didn’t want to deal with that, not again; he just wanted to pick up some more clothes. He averted his gaze from the man sitting on a stool from the kitchen island and headed to the corridor when the voice he would recognize anywhere stopped him. “I need to go to rehab, Steph. This, all this, isn’t worth it. Losing you is not worth it” was his promise and, instead of gathering up his closet, they packed Tony’s before they went to the centre he had previously made research on.

“We have certainly covered all obstacles that can come up in a relationship in such a short time, haven’t we?” he asked when he leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder.

“Just wait until Peter becomes a teenager.” they both laughed at that.

“Don’t remind me that.” Stephen snuggled up to his husband’s chest. “For now, I just want to cuddle you before our child comes back with a sugar rush.”

Tony smirked, “Sounds like a plan.”

The couple didn’t see the end of the film as they fell asleep soon after with Tony embracing the doctor, but they were woken up by an excited toddler calling them. Their half-open eyes caught the two women entering the room with the kid holding their hands.

“Dad, daddy! Wake up, you have to see this!” he exclaimed as he jumped.

“Hello, Pete. Did you have fun?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

“Yes! We had stracciatella ice creams at that Italian place dad mentioned, and then we went to the Children's Museum of the Arts! It was amazing. Aunt Pep explained a lot of interesting things and” he stopped for a second. “Aunt Christine, can you lift me up to the bed, please?”

The surgeon looked at Stephen to see if he was okay with that and wouldn’t get hurt if she did so and her co-worker nodded slightly. His face wasn’t swollen anymore and there wasn’t any trace of the brushes nor injuries in the rest of his body, except for his hands.

“What have you brought for us?” Stephen questioned once he saw he was holding a piece of paper in his hand.

“After the tour, there was a big room where you could draw anything because there were crayons, paint, charcoal, and even clay!” Peter smiled and handed the drawing to Stephen. “All of us did this.”

The couple instantly recognized the setting: it was the living room of the penthouse and there were two figures in the middle, one was Tony (recognizable by the suit) and the other was Peter himself, both of them smiling and holding up balloons. Above them, there was a sign that said “welcome home, daddy!”.

“It was Peter’s idea, mainly. We just wrote the message.” Pepper added as she stroked Peter’s cheek.

“Do you like it?” he asked, uncertain when he saw Stephen tearing up.

“Of course I do. It’s one of my favourite drawings.”

“You did an amazing job, kid.” Tony continued to speak. “We’re going to hang it up here, next to daddy’s bed, so he recovers quicker, alright?”

The boy nodded and his next question came shortly after, “When are you coming home, daddy?”

“Soon.” was the only reply Stephen could give to his son.

They noticed the kid got annoyed by the answer, “But you’ve already said that! I want you to come home now and I want to play with you and dad!”

“Peter, that’s not how things work.” the mechanic starts but is soon interrupted by Christine.

“Pete, do you remember when you had a sprain after jumping on the sofa and you weren’t able to run for a while because, if you kept doing it, it’d get worse?” she explained, and he agreed. “That’s what would happen if daddy gets back home earlier and you’d have to wait more to play with him.”

Stephen smiled at his colleague and mouthed “thank you”.

“As soon as I get home we’re going to build all the blanket forts you want, alright?” he promised.

“And can we do film marathons too, please?” he suggested and got a ‘yes’ as an answer. “Thank you!”

“Great, that means we’re watching _Moana_ for the umpteenth time.” Tony muttered.

“Don’t pretend that you don’t like it, I’ve heard you singing songs from that movie in the office.” Pepper reproached him.

“Not to be rude but isn’t really late for you guys? You have hospitals and companies to run.” he proposed, trying to preserve some dignity.

“Oh, does he do that too? Stephen sang songs from _Frozen_ during surgeries for some time.” Christine added without minding what Tony had said. Her co-worker was left dumbstruck by the revelation of his secret.

Tony turned around and scolded his partner, “You mocked me for that when you were doing the same thing? You’re lucky you’re cute, Strange.”

“They’re catchy! At least I don’t sing them in the least appropriate moments…”

“We should probably head off, guys.” Pepper announced and took her girlfriend’s hand, knowing they could argue for hours.

“Very smart of you, you stir this up and leave us to it.” he smirked. “But thank you for today, we don’t know what we would do without you.”

“Anytime. This little man over here doesn’t cause trouble.” the surgeon ruffled Peter’s brown curls.

“Remind me to buy you a lot of wine and offer a lot of babysitting hours when you two have a child.” Tony said when they were walking out the door.

“You already know our address, so I’ll be waiting for those fancy Chardonnay bottles.” Christine laughed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No trigger warnings in this chapter as I'm giving them a rest.

This accident wasn’t only taking a toll on the driver. Tony’s nightmares were getting worse: even though he wasn’t in that car, he saw pics of its state after they took it out of the river and got to know all the details when the police came to take the statement. It was the first time Tony heard all the details because Stephen didn’t want to recall that night unless it was necessary and a part of him wished he hadn’t. Everybody wondered how Stephen got out of there alive. The engineer insisted on adding the AI they had at home to the car because he couldn’t lose anyone else in such a horrible way, but Stephen refused, arguing that he didn’t want a machine to tell him what he could do and couldn’t do. He insisted that he had the control. They both shared the passion for cars, but Stephen was keener to test how fast they could go. In the first months of their relationship, when they were essentially having fun, it was usual for them to travel around Malibu in his new Audi R8, but they didn’t mind about the consequences as they had different priorities. Tony couldn’t help but blame himself for not insisting more, for not being able to protect him when it was one of his prime concerns. The image of his husband drowning filled his mind at night and it usually ended with images of him and Peter saying goodbye at his funeral. He woke up alone, though, and had to wash his face with cold water to stay grounded. “Not long until all this is over”, he repeated to himself before going back to bed.

Stephen knew about it. Not that Tony told him, of course, but he could feel it when he looked at his face. The lack of the glint in his brown eyes and how less talkative he was sometimes implied that the routine was a mountain to climb and it was taking a toll on the genius. It wasn’t because his husband was interfering in his projects–the ones he loved were more important than his company–but because he couldn’t find any solution for his hands and that was one of the worst things you could tell to a stubborn person like Tony. The dark bags under his eyes that Stephen saw when he came in the morning gave away that he was back to his old habits and was spending long nights working in the lab, but Tony wouldn’t say anything; he would put a smile on his face and help him without complaining. Stephen wouldn’t say anything either; he knew how he would react and how it would end up in a fight as they had had this conversation before, and he didn’t need that. He already had a lot in mind since the second surgery was planned for that same week, and they, alongside the team, had to go through all the details once again.

The night before, Tony unexpectedly brought the bag he normally used for the gym, but before he could ask, Peter was quickly showing him some brushes on his knees that he got when he fell from the pull-up bars at the playground. Right before dinner time at the hospital, Rhodey showed up at his room. It might have been due to the painkillers, but Stephen didn’t recall that detail.

“Are you ready to build those Lego aircrafts, buddy?” Rhodey asked Peter.

“I’ve been waiting the whole week for this, uncle Rhodey!” he replied with his characteristic enthusiasm.

“Bring him back in one piece, Colonel.” Tony warned with a smug smile before they headed off. They picked up Peter’s bag and said their goodbyes.

Stephen turned around to look at Tony, who was already waiting for his questions, “That’s why you brought that bag?”

“I thought we could do something to take your mind off the surgery and it turns out that I have contacts.” he smirked.

“Oh, the great Anthony Stark comes to the rescue.” he rolled his eyes.

“Whatever, you asshole.” he said and offered him a jacket. “Put this on, you’ll need it.”

“Please don’t tell me you bribed the safety guard and that you have a reservation in 15 minutes.”

“Who do you think I am?” he inquired in disbelief. “Don’t answer that question. And yes, I have a reservation, but we’re not leaving the building. I promise.”

Stephen went after his husband and, so far, they didn’t have to hide in any broom closet when a nurse passed by so that was a good sign. They went upstairs, to the last floor, and the door was already open for them. When the neurosurgeon went through the door, a whole dinner was waiting for him at the terrace. There were a table and two chairs, along with some candles and a blanket in case the night got cooler.

Tony pulled out a chair and started, “Christine told me about this place and how you two came here after an exhausting day, so I thought it’d be nice to have a night out. It’s been a while, don’t you think?”

Those days were long forgotten now. Stephen decided to stop smoking when they got the news Peter was coming home and Christine followed him shortly after. They tried to come as much as possible, but life got busier and busier.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when two successful and hard-working men get together.” he smiled. “You didn’t have to do all this, Tony.”

“You’re right. I didn’t have to, but I wanted to.” he gestured towards the table. “Now, I’m sure you’ve missed my speciality: Thai food from the restaurant around the corner of our apartment.”

The evening was warmer than they both had expected for a night in the middle of March. They avoided the controversial topics and enjoyed each other’s company as if they were at one of their favourite five-star restaurant they went to when they had their monthly night out. The plan definitely reached its purpose and Stephen could only focus on the bright smile in front of him and those shiny eyes that were looking at him as though he was the only thing left on this world. Their worries disappeared even if it was for a couple of hours, so Stephen decided to share something that had been in his mind lately.

“The other day I was talking with Carol, that woman from therapy,” yet he was suddenly cut off.

“I thought we wouldn’t talk about it, Steph.”

“Let me explain myself.” Tony nodded. “She told me how her therapy was going and how she will be back home next week, so I started to think about my situation, our situation, and I don’t think this can’t go on like this.”

“What do you mean?” Tony asked cautiously.

Even though he wanted to go back to the operating theatres as soon as possible, Stephen couldn’t do that to his partner. Their lives had to go back to how they used to be before the accident for their own sake. Just with that simple dinner, Tony behaved more like the man he fell in love with than he had in the past month.

“If this surgery doesn’t go as planned, then that’s it.” he announced. “If these hands don’t stop shaking so badly, then I’ll find another way because no matter how much I want to go back to the operating room, this doesn’t only affect my life. It affects yours and Peter’s and I can’t do that to you. It’s only been a month and I can’t stand seeing you like this, carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.”

“Steph, we’re okay. If you need 5 more surgeries, then we’ll go through all of them. I can handle this.”

“But at what cost, Tones? The bags under your eyes are as bad as they were when we first met. Besides, surely Peter doesn’t precisely “agree” when you tell him it’s time to go when you’re at the park. He doesn’t deserve to spend most of his time in a hospital. It’s not worth it.”

“What happened to the ‘I’m not giving up’ speech?” Tony asked looking at the city beneath them.

“I’m not giving up. I just don’t want this situation consuming us and breaking us apart just because I was selfish. Would I say ‘no’ to a surgery that could bring my hands back in a few years? No, but it doesn’t exist now. I could… I don’t know, carry on with the investigation field but I just can’t sit there and wait.”

Tony bit his lower lip. He wanted to keep it under wraps for as long as possible because he knew, one way or another, Stephen would make a fuss about it as he thought he didn’t deserve all the effort he was putting. The project was in his early stages, and he didn’t want to give him hope when he didn’t know if it worked. Stephen couldn’t take another disappointment and even less from him.

“Maybe there is a way.” the mechanic announced nonetheless.

“Please, don’t put too much pressure on yourself. I know that won’t change anything and that you’ll still work on it until the sun comes up, but our lives don’t have to revolve around the accident. I don’t want that,” he pronounced. “I made a reckless decision and I fucked up, so I have to face the consequences.”

“Just hear me out, okay? If you don’t want me to continue, so be it but I just couldn’t do anything. It’s a prototype,” he continued, “but I did some research, and we could work on some kind of wristbands to stabilize the trembling. It wouldn’t take your hands back completely, for now, but you could do simple tasks such as shaving.”

The doctor paused for a moment before sharing his thoughts, “That sounds promising. And even if it doesn’t work for me, it could be the beginning of another project that could help a lot of people.”

“It’s going to work, Steph. I just need to find a balance so it’s not damaging and test it out.”

“That’s the project that has taken so many hours of your sleep?”

“Since you’re not there to keep me up all night,” he smirked. “But yes. Your physical therapist has been a great help so far, as well.”

“That explains why he called you that night. I knew you couldn’t be more charming than me.” he teased.

He remarked, dramatically offended. “You definitely need to come back home so I can remind you that. It seems like you’ve forgotten my smooth, seductive ways.”

“I’ll miss you shaving me in the mornings, though.” he grinned.

“I can still do that, you know I’d never turn down an opportunity to touch those cheekbones.” Tony winked.

Stephen laughed, “I’d normally say that you’re the worst for that kind of comment, but I definitely missed your flirting.”

They sit there for a moment, smiling and staring at each other as if this was one of their first dates, when life was easier. Their personalities sometimes clashed, but they learnt after many years of stupid arguments that a lot of them could have been prevented if they had taken a step back and tried not to get carried away.

“So, are you going to try them?” the inventor asked when they were on their way back to the room.

“Yes, we’ll test them out.” he simply added.

The second surgery went as planned, they worked on the nerves they didn’t touch the first time as a precaution, but it wasn’t a success. When the nurses took the bandages off, his hands were still shaking, and the scars were even more noticeable. The confirmation they feared came when Stephen resumed the physical therapy: he couldn’t stretch them much more than he previously was able to, and he had to try not to cry because of how much they hurt. After they have arranged some appointments to continue with the therapy, Stephen was discharged and had to face one of his main worries: the routine at home. He’d stay all day in the apartment, he’d be constantly reminded of his previous life and that someone had to be by his side almost all the time because he couldn’t do anything by himself.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all, I want to apologize for taking me so long to update (even more when there was one part left). It wasn't my intention but I had a lot of things to do due to university and my job so I didn't have much time. Then Christmas break came and well, you know how family is. Secondly, thanks to anyone who waited all this time for an update and again, I'm so sorry. But it's finally here and to make up for the long wait, I'm posting two chapters into one. Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Warnings: things get frisky on the second part so there will be smut.

5 months had passed since Stephen entered their house and was welcomed, as they promised, with a big sign and Peter rushing as fast as he could to embrace him in a tight hug. He was overwhelmed because he didn’t know what was next in his life. It was an unusual feeling as he had everything planned since he was 12 years old, when he decided to be a neurosurgeon. Tony noticed, quickly put a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear “hey, take as much time as you need, darling”. And that’s what he did, he didn’t rush anything and tried to settle a schedule for his days: their mornings would start as they usually did, hurrying up to be on time at Peter’s day care because they were shirking in bed—thanks to Tony—and having to gulp down cups of hot coffee, but they would go back home together instead of parting to different places of Manhattan. The rest was split between physical therapy exercises and spontaneous walks around the city because Stephen hated being at home for so long and Tony knew it, so he didn’t complain when he was dragged out of his workshop. They always went by walk as Stephen hadn’t even been near the garage. The afternoons would make up for the lost time with Peter instead, and sometimes they would be lying exhausted on the couch before they started to cook dinner.

The tests with the wristbands had had to wait for a bit. Tony was giving them the final touches and Stephen used that as an excuse to postpone the first test for as long as possible. He did trust his husband, and he knew that he had created the best gadget the latest technology could provide, but he was worried they wouldn’t work because his hands were unpredictable. When he had left the hospital, they shook slightly and they hurt all the time, but thanks to the exercises to improve his grip and Tony’s massages to lessen the pain in the middle of the night, they got better. Yet, they would start trembling when he thought they were on a run of good luck, and he would drop the fork full of rice or he would get a cut on his cheek with the razor. Never mind other tasks, such as cutting steaks or writing; he wouldn’t try because he knew it would be a waste of time. But the day had to come sooner or later, and he was certain that if he hadn’t set up a date soon, Tony would have started implying that he should get over it.

On May 2nd, 3 months after his accident, Tony started to record the first session with the wristbands he had made for him. “Just to keep track on the progress”, he said in his defence when Stephen raised his eyebrow questioning his actions. The mechanic opened a box in front of him and Stephen was surprised by how simple they were: two thin metallic bracelets with a narrow blue line that Stephen guessed was the technology he incorporated; they didn’t stand out, and he could easily hide them underneath the sleeves of his shirts. He looked up and saw a worried look on his face before he started:

“They’re stabilizers. They should keep the trembling to a minimum and will let you carry cups of tea without you having to worry about spilling it,” Tony offered them to him. “Just as you told me, don’t put too much pressure on yourself in case they don’t work out. But they will.”

Stephen took them, put them around his wrists, and the blue line lighted up when they made contact with his pale skin. They fit perfectly and the metal wasn’t as cold as he had expected. The genius suggested to start with something easy and gave him a glass of water. Stephen could already feel the effects, but he was impressed when he was able to take hold of the container and hand it back to Tony, who was at the other end of the table, without spilling any drop. They looked at each other immediately and Stephen was left open-mouthed because on that particular day his hands weren’t cooperating much.

“You did it, babe. You did it.” Tony smiled and got closer to kiss Stephen. “Do you want to try something else?”

With time, together they found out that they worked for most tasks: he could cut meat if it wasn’t too thick, take Peter’s hands when they were going for a walk, unbutton his shirts (or his husband’s) or write a somewhat legible shopping list. However, they also discovered that if Stephen wore the bracelets for too long, his wrists would start to ache. It was the only side effect, though, and they made his life easier. His hands might not be as the ones that brought him to the top of the ‘best neurosurgeons in the country and in the world’ list, but he accepted that he wouldn’t go back to his previous life. Anytime soon, at least. He didn’t give up hope because maybe in the future medical advances would allow him to take a scalpel around his fingers once again, but he couldn’t be stuck in the past when everyone around him was moving forwards.

Tony went back to Stark Industries at the beginning of July. Stephen had insisted that he should go and help the world with more clean energy inventions instead of spending his days looking at him reading the latest neurology articles that he had missed in the past months. He objected because he got used to their short—yet intense—relaxed lifestyle and to being with Stephen all day, but companies were asking for his projects, and he couldn’t delay them anymore or it would have repercussions on the firm. Since it was summer, Peter was enjoying his holidays with his daddy doing all sort of activities in town so he wasn’t the entire day at home: he learnt how to ride a bicycle (with training wheels but don’t tell that to Ned), saw some showings at open air cinemas and, if they were lucky, sometimes they went to grab lunch with dad at the office. His favourite one was on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, though, when they would go to the dance academy near their house, and he would have the lessons he had been begging for. For his age, he was good at it, his parents had to admit.

* * *

Nowadays, things were going well for the Stark-Strange family and Tony can’t help but smile when he sees the scene in their living room while he is cooking some hamburgers for dinner. Peter and Stephen have chosen a good day to take out all the blankets from the closets as there was a big storm outside; luckily, it will help to lower the temperatures because the heat of the past days was close to being unbearable. They also have taken all the pillows they could find and together they have built the fort they had been working on paper for some days. This one was special because they planned to include a little home cinema so they could enjoy whatever movie the kid had chosen. Just as Tony turns around, he sees a very excited Peter, who squeals when Stephen lets him do the ritual they always do when they inaugurate a fort.

“The Stark-Strange fort is inaugurated. Please welcome King Peter!” the child says as he lifts the toy sceptre.

“Boys! Dinner is ready, come on.” Tony calls out as he takes out the last hamburger from the grill.

“Five more minutes, dad, please.” the little boy implores.

“You have been there all afternoon. Don’t make me go there.” he warns.

“Or what?”

_Has he heard that right? Has he just heard his husband defying him?,_ Tony thinks. He approaches the sofa where the fort was placed and pushes aside the sheet they used as a door.

“You won’t have dessert tonight.” he points at his husband and turns to his son. “And you will have a visit from the Tickle Monster.”

Before Peter can react, Tony’s hands are on his stomach and he starts to tickle him. He’s begging for mercy but soon Stephen joins them and tickles them both until the three of them are out of breath and notice that the blankets and sheets are almost crumbling down because of their kicks.

“Can we at least have dinner here, dad?” Peter asks when he catches his breath.

Tony rolls his eyes at how easily he gives up when he sees his son’s big brown eyes and curses under his breath when he gets up to pick up the dishes for them.

* * *

“I had a job interview at Columbia,” Stephen confesses once they are alone on the sofa after putting Peter to bed, not really paying attention to the programme on TV. “And they offered me a teaching position.”

“Have you given them an answer yet?” he asks as he takes his eyes off the screen, trying not to sound surprised.

“You know I despise people who don’t pay attention to what I’m saying, even more when they’re some 18-year-old spoiled kids,” he pauses but continues before Tony can protest. “But I thought I’d have the same holidays as Peter and would be able to come home early. That would be nice. So, I accepted on the condition that my lessons won’t be for first-year students but for final year students or so.”

He smiles, “Should I buy you some sweaters with elbow patches then?”

“Only if you want a lot of students in my office with the poor excuse that they have questions about the final exam when they actually want to see me.”

“Bold of you to assume you’ll be the sexy teacher of the faculty.”, he teases.

“Wanna bet?”

Tony smirks at him and replies after he has placed himself on his lap, “Only if you want to lose.” he closes the mere distance between their lips with a kiss. “But I think it’s the best option for you at the moment, darling. I’m going to support you even if you quit before the end of the semester; I wouldn’t blame you, I was insufferable in college.”

Stephen knows his husband is being sincere, but something about the glint in his eyes is telling him that Tony has something else in mind.

“We’re not getting laid in my office, Tony.”

“Scandalous!” he pretends to be offended. “I didn’t imply that, so don’t blame me for your kinky mind.”

“Just like I didn’t blame you for yours when you gave me a blowjob on the terrace when we were at one of Rhodey’s party? Or when that poor old lady almost caught us in the lift in Las Vegas? Or that time Pepper noticed some mysterious stains on your clothes?”

He gasps dramatically, “I never heard you complaining so I’m not going to tolerate this kink shame party. Besides, who carried on with my stupid ideas, uh?”

The former neurosurgeon laughs, “We’ve been together for almost a decade. We’re not that young anymore, Anthony.”

“Don’t start with that talk, Professor Strange. Have I told you that I’ve been doing some yoga lately?”

“I like how that sounds.” Stephen admits as he caresses the back of his neck.

“Which pose do you have in mind?” he grins mischievously.

“I meant the professor part, idiot.”

“I can call you that if it gets you in the mood.” his fingers start to brush Stephen’s arms and he gets closer to him.

“Did you really have, or still have—you may never know with you—, that fantasy?” he looks at him incredulously.

“I’m just saying I’ve never had sex on one of those old wooden desks.”

“I bet you’ll look good on them.” he presses kisses on his jaw.

“Already wanting to risk your job for a good time?” Tony says, slowly rolling his hips against his crotch.

“I’m not responsible for what I say when I can only think of that tongue of yours doing wonders when you’re on your knees.” he answers before he moves his lips to his neck as he places a hand on one of his butt-cheeks; his hands don’t have the same strength they once had, but he loves grabbing Tony’s ass.

“You know I love that, I really do but,” he huffs when he feels the soft cupid lips sucking on his neck, “tomorrow we have to wake up early to set up Peter’s birthday party, so we better be quick.”

“I thought I was grounded with no dessert tonight.” he reminds him, purring in his ear before taking his earlobe between his teeth.

“You’re determined to push my buttons tonight, uh?”

“Is it working?”

He made him face him, “Just don’t leave any marks on my precious skin or some moms will be even more jealous of me tomorrow.”

“I’ll try but you’ll have to beg me a bit more, Mr. Stark.” he takes him by the back of his knees and stands up to take him to their bedroom.

Tony shrewdly decided to assign Peter’s bedroom two rooms from their master en-suite bedroom for situations like this: as soon as the door closes, Stephen pins his husband against the nearest wall, too busy with their mouths to care about what will that mean for their backs tomorrow. With his legs firmly placed on his hips, Tony’s hands go under the cotton grey T-shirt Stephen is wearing to roam over his torso, getting soft moans as a response. Seeing how eagerly his movements are, Stephen carefully settles him on the ground so he can lift his arms and let the other man take his shirt off. As soon as it’s tossed aside, his fingers start working on the buttons of his white shirt and tries to ignore the cramps to finish the task before Tony notices and does it for him. He closes the distance between them by bringing back his mouth to his neck as the shirt finally falls from his shoulders. Even though Stephen can feel Tony wants to get to the point, he can’t help but spend some minutes appreciating his bare bulky torso by leaving wet kisses over it. Tony delicately takes his head with his hand before he arrives at the waistband and brings him closer to give him an open-mouth kiss. His tongue fills Stephen’s mouth, turning the kiss into a passionate one that leaves them breathless when they pull apart. Taking advantage of the situation, Tony takes him by his arms and turns them around and now it’s Stephen who is against the wall: unlike the man in front of him, Tony isn’t keen on making him suffer with long make-out moments. He pulls a smirk on his face before he kneels as his hands get into his black sweatpants.

“Trying to convince me so you can come to my office?” Stephen suggests when he sees his pants alongside the underwear getting lower.

He can feel the warm breath near the head of his half hard cock, “Oh honey, I already know you’ll be the one who will call me to go there and suck you off while I’m under your desk.”

“What if I have to share an office, uh?”

“As if that would stop me. Or have you already forgotten about our time in the supply closets of the hospital?” he grins.

Stephen is about to answer but his mouth can only let out a groan when his length is wrapped around Tony’s lips. He starts to take him bit by bit, not wanting to show how desperate he really is. When he gets to the base, his tongue finds his balls to lick them, much to his husband’s delight. Stephen curls his fingers on his dishevelled hair and Tony takes the hint as to start going up and down his dick and licking the top from time to time, doing some circles around the head. He wants to move his head as he pleases but a strong hand on his waist prevents him from fucking his throat, so instead he leans his head against the wall and succumbs to the sensation of Tony’s hot mouth around his cock. The increase of his moans announces that he won’t last any longer so he denies his orgasm by withdrawing his mouth. Yet, Stephen doesn’t have much time to complain about it as Tony stands up, takes his hand to make him kick off the rest of his clothes and takes them to bed. Once Stephen is lying naked on the silk sheets, Tony doesn’t follow him, taking his time to undo the belt and removes his jeans and briefs.

As soon as they’re on the floor, Stephen fiercely grabs him and places Tony on top of him. They don’t waste any time: Tony caresses his tights as they kiss eagerly and Stephen grabs his butt to make him hurry up but that only makes the engineer deny the touch where he most craved. He grunts and is about to grumble but his eyes catch Tony trying to blindly grab the bottle of lube they keep in the bedside table as he’s lightly sucking his neck. Stephen wraps his fingers around one of his nipples, making him pull back from his neck to whimper, and with his other hand he starts to caress his v-line stopping right before he gets to his cock. Soon, Stephen feels Tony rubbing their dicks together when he grinds his hips against his crotch, and they can’t help but let out groans in the other’s ear. He huffs when Tony’s breath leaves his ear to face him.

“We better get to it or I’m gonna cum soon.” he states as he deals with the lid.

Stephen is about to take the bottle from him so he can prepare Tony, but he quickly takes it away.

“Uh-uh, tonight I’m taking care of you, babe.”

He raises his brow, “Is that really the case? I thought you’d show me your yoga poses.”

“Come by one Tuesday morning and I can show you the ones for flexibility, but for now, let me congratulate you on your new job.” he proposes as his coated in lube fingers get to the rim of his hole.

Stephen whines at the sensation of coldness but his expression swiftly changes when he feels two fingers inside him. Tony takes his time to prepare him since he doesn’t want him complaining the next day and adds a third finger when the grasp on his hips tighten as despair is getting over Stephen. He’s about to take his fingers out but suddenly he brushes his prostate with his fingertips and gets a laboured groan from the man underneath him. Tony decides to finger him a bit more to see how much he can take as his moans get louder and louder.

“Anthony please, your fingers are great but I want you to fuck me now.” he whimpers and grabs a hold of the silk sheets.

“You know that your wishes are my command.” he softly kisses his neck and makes his way down to his chest, where he lightly sucks on his sensitive nipples.

Stephen clenches his teeth when he feels empty as Tony takes his fingers out of him. When he’s about to position himself to penetrate him, Stephen reaches for his cock with his scarred hand and roughly strokes it a few times. It’s a delight—as his moans show—, Tony had to admit, but he frowns at him and grabs his wrist.

“Didn’t that hurt? Darling, you know you don’t have to.”

“Not as much as it used to. Besides, I love the face you make when I twist it.” he smirks mischievously.

“You’ll be the death of me.” he admits before he teases his rim with the head of his cock.

Tony takes one of his long legs and places it around his hips to have better access and quickly shoves his dick inside Stephen, just as he knows he likes it. Once he bottoms out, he firmly grabs the headboard with one of his hands and looks straight into his husband’s eyes as he starts to slowly move inside him. He feels the heel of his foot pressing against his ass to make him pick up the pace as Stephen can only let out grunts between kisses. Tony happily obliges and the room is quickly filled with their moans, heavy pants and their praises as they can’t keep for themselves how beautiful the other look when there’s a deep thrust. The engineer notices Stephen’s grip tightens on his shoulder, with his nails sinking in his tanned skin, as he hits his prostate when he slightly shifts the angle, meaning he’s getting close. He lets go out the headboard, as he rests his other hand on the mattress, to take his cock around his fist to stroke it at the same time as he slams into him harder. Stephen groans loudly when he finds his release when Tony circles the head with his thumb. Tony is still thrusting into him to reach his orgasm so Stephen takes his hand full of his cum and brings his fingers closer to his mouth. He stares straight at him as he slowly takes them inside his mouth and licks his own cum, which sends a shiver through Tony’s body and brings him over the edge with a soft whimper on his lips. Tony collapses next to him as they try to catch their breaths and turns to face his lover before trailing his fingertips over his sensitive and spent body: somehow it has become a habit to lay in bed and caress their sweaty skins while they whisper sweet nothings in the other’s ears as they both come down from the bliss after making love.

“So, am I getting some private tutoring hours?” he smirks between kisses on his neck.

“There’s no harm in doing some extra study hours, so maybe I can find some time for you.”, he teases and lifts his chin to kiss him slowly.

The exhaustion takes over their bodies not long after that and Stephen wraps an arm around his waist to bring him closer as Tony places his head on his chest before they fall asleep.

The next morning, the feeling of his chain being fiddled around wakes Stephen up. His eyes go straight to his right, where Tony is still resting his head on his bare chest. They luckily have some time to cuddle before their busy day starts. Before his husband notices he’s awake, he looks fondly at the man playing absent-mindedly with his wedding band and his engagement ring; he had the idea of keeping them on a chain instead of a box, which would probably get lost, and that way Stephen could still have them with him. His injured fingers in his messy hair make the genius snuggle up to him.

“What are you thinking of already?” he asks with a raspy voice.

He grasps the band and answers, “Can you believe he’s already four?”

“It’s too early for nostalgia, dear.” he laughs and his fingers move to caress his toned arms. “But I’m glad I’m watching him growing up so fast alongside you.”

Tony grins and finally turns around to meet Stephen’s eyes. He places his legs to straddle him and lowers himself to kiss his husband gently.

“Look who is the sappy one now.” his hand interlocks with the scarred one that Stephen has above his head. “I was especially thinking of the moment when he first called you “daddy”. Do you remember that?”

That memory always brought a huge smile on Stephen’s face although it was a bittersweet moment, somewhat. He was in Toronto for a medical conference and seized the little free time he had before going to have dinner with some colleagues by making a quick video call with his family. The neurosurgeon caught them in the kitchen as Tony tried not to burn the mac and cheese while he was keeping eye on Peter, who was painting on the kitchen island. The mechanic seemed a bit stressed even though he kept telling him everything was under control; in his defence, it was the first time he was taking care of their son all by himself for some days, as the kid had come into their lives only 4 months before. Stephen was watching them eat as they were telling him what they had done on that day when, suddenly, Peter announced: “I built a rocket with Ned, daddy!”. His eyes widened, wondering if he heard that right, but seeing Tony freezing when he was about to take another bite of the pasta confirmed his suspicions. They both smiled when they took in what had just happened and continued with the conversation as smoothly as possible, but that didn’t stop them to chatter about it later that night when they were in their beds.

“There’s no way I’m forgetting about that.” his thumb rubs his hand. “Good thing I won’t have to travel much now so I won’t have to live those moments through a screen.”

“Don’t remind me of your new job or we’re not leaving this bed anytime soon.” Tony warns but swiftly chuckles when Stephen turns them around, leaving him on top of Tony.

He gets closer to him and stops centimetres away from his lips to say, “If you really want to keep your precious skin intact, without any marks, you better get up with me to prepare the breakfast.”

“I’ve considered it and I want all the parents talking about the hickeys you leave around my neck. I’m sure that will make us parent delegates.” Tony replies and brings him closer by his nape to give him a peck on his lips.

“You want more titles on your business cards or what?” he smiles.

“Of course, just imagine: CEO, genius, billionaire, retired playboy, philanthropist, married to the best man in the world and parent delegate of my son’s class.”

“Almost as long as your ego, douchebag.” he chuckles.

“But you love me.”

“I do love you.” he murmurs before kissing him softly and deliberately.

Stephen pauses for a second when they break apart and whispers, “We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?”

Tony caresses the back of his neck and reassures him, “We’re going to be okay. I promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is it! Thank you very much to anyone who read this story, left a comment and kudos. I'm very grateful as this is my first multi-chapter fanfic and I didn't expect all this, so thank you again. It might be the first time but surely won't be the last time I'm writing a fic about these two.
> 
> Edit: by chance I realized there was, somehow, a sentence missing in the middle of the chapter. Not major changes if you have already read this chapter but now the dialogue obviously makes more sense.


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